Courtesy of the City of Allentown
ALLENTOWN, Pa. –Â
Multiple light poles are bent. Others sit on the ground in the snow and hundreds of light bulbs were crushed after Allentown’s Lights in the Parkway was vandalized.
The holiday display was forced to go dark Sunday night.
“Somebody put a real effort into destroying something beautiful and we’re going to hold that person or persons accountable,” said Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk in a Facebook video. “Our police have begun a criminal investigation into the vandalism that occurred last night. We are reviewing all available evidence. We’re reviewing video footage looking at physical evidence to bring the person to justice or the persons to justice,” said Mayor Tuerk.
Chris Devlin saw the damage left behind as he walked through park.
He said he has been to the holiday display before.
“That’s really sad because we are only a week or so out from Christmas and people want to come and have a good time and it’s just a real bummer,” said Devlin.
Allentown Parks and Recreation director Mandy Tolino said 6-8 historic pieces have toppled over.
“Some of them we may actually have to replace and wait until next season, but the team is really talented, so they’ll be able to fix some of them and then hopefully just rearrange some others to make it look okay,” said Tolino.
She said so far there’s more than $50,000 in damages and it could reach around $100,000.
Tolino said there is one thing that is especially disappointing.
“Community groups come out and they’re collecting donations for their organizations,” said Tolino.
After being closed Sunday, Lights in the Parkway will hold its Move It Monday event this week.
“We’re Allentown, you can’t knock us down. We’re going to get back up again,” said Mayor Tuerk.
Mayor Tuerk said people donate to the Allentown Partnership to help fix the damage.
Courtesy of the City of Allentown
Authorities are actively assessing the full extent of the damage and determining the broader impact on the remainder of the Lights in the Parkway season. Preliminary assessments indicate that restoring the damaged displays will be difficult and costly during the current season.
As a result, it has not yet been determined whether Move It Monday, scheduled for Monday, Dec.15, will proceed. An update will be provided as soon as more information becomes available.
Officials say visitors who purchased tickets for tonight’s Lights in the Parkway event should contact the Parks Office for assistance with rebooking or refunds at (610) 437-7757 (Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.) or by email at events@allentownpa.gov.
The city has deployed its full complement of Parks crews, who are simultaneously addressing last night’s snowstorm, assisting Public Works crews, and responding to the vandalism while securing and evaluating the site.
Courtesy of the City of Allentown
City officials condemn all acts of vandalism, and stress that last night’s incident impacts not only a beloved holiday tradition, but also the staff, volunteers, and families who look forward to this event each year.
The city says they will continue to evaluate repair options, and that every effort will be made to keep the Lights in the Parkway tradition going with the resources currently available.
This incident is being investigated by the Allentown Police Department. Anyone with information can contact the department at (610) 437-7753. Tipsters are also encouraged to provide information related to the incident through the TIP411 application on www.allentownpa.gov/police.